


Elder Scrolls: White Gold on the Red Ring

by Jolokiakid



Series: White Gold on the Red Ring [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls
Genre: Aldmeri Dominion, Alinor, Cyrodiil, Dragonborn (Elder Scrolls), Elder Scrolls Lore, F/F, Great War, Hammerfell, Imperial City, Morrowind, Post-Oblivion Crisis, Septim Empire, Skyrim - Freeform, Skyrim References, Summerset Isles, Talos - Freeform, White gold, White gold tower, mede dynasty, oblivion, tiber septim - Freeform, white gold concordate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-03 18:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16331366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jolokiakid/pseuds/Jolokiakid
Summary: A new emperor has taken the throne. Inherited an empire that is merely a shadow of its former self. Little does anyone know, worse is yet to come.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of lore based fan fiction that I have written to fill in gaps left by the elder scrolls games. It is in no way cannon, but nothing is written in a way to conflict with the pre existing lore.

4E 168 16th of Rain's hand

Thousands are gathered in the temple district, common and nobility both line the streets. There is a somber hush over the crowd, a day of celebration like this is unusually dreary. It seems like the crowd has been waiting all day before Imperial guards in ivory colored steel armour laden with gold fixings begin to part the crowd on the street. With the amount of onlookers it is nearly impossible to see what is happening but the Imperial garrison makes it's way towards the Temple of the one. 

As they approach, the temple doors swing open, revealing a further thousand nobility, acolytes and members of the elder council inside. In the middle of the temple is the giant statue of Akatosh. It dominates the inside of the temple. The ceiling to the temple looks of newer construction than the rest of the temple. Ray's of light beam through the high windows and settle upon the brazier, where the dragon fires should be, beneath the great statue of Akatosh. The path in the temple is clear all the way up to the altar where a priest wearing white robes is standing, white hair on his head that is balding at the top, wrinkled skin and looks to be at least in his eighties, accompanied by a tanned imperial man with blonde hair, possibly in his mid fifties wearing fine blue robes with the imperial dragon sigil on both cuffs in gold. It is well known to everybody that this is Dorran, imperial BattleMage, accompanied with a golden staff attached to his back.

Behind them are nine shrines. Members of the Penitus Oculatus line The crowd on both sides. There is perhaps 30 of them in total, that is, that could be seen. A silence falls over the temple as the Imperial guards part to reveal a man with long black hair wearing purple and gold Royal robes, a troubled and almost desperate look on his face. He slowly makes his way to the altar. The man approaches the Shrine of Akatosh and unsheathes his sword, he bowes on one knee placing his sword in front of him and whispers a prayer that only he and the priest can hear. He stands and moves to the Shrine of Dibella. He repeat this process. He then moves to the Shrine of Arkay followed by Julianos, Mara, Kynareth, Zenithar, Stendar, and then finally Talos. In total this whole process takes just short of an hour. Not a word is spoken from the onlookers.

The priest turns his back to the altar facing the crowd and pulls out a crimson cloth . The man still kneeling at the Shrine of Talos stands and turns to face the priest. The priest walks over to the dragonfires beneath Akatosh. He picks up a torch that is laying on a pedestal next to the dragon fires. He lights the dragon fires and a towering, illuminating flame can be seen all around the temple. The man now walks from the Shrine of Talos over to the priest at which point the priest reveals what was inside the crimson cloth. I fine gold hilted dagger which bares the imperial dragon sigil inscribed on the blade. He presents the dagger to the man. He pauses for a moment and then with his right hand takes the dagger, proceeds slowly up to the dragonfires. 

Holding his hand high above the dragonfires he runs the blade across his left palm. His blood begins to trickle into the Dragon fires. The priest raises his head and in a very loud and stern voice "with your blood you are now bound to Akatosh." Both men return to the altar and face the crowd, not a word is said as both men walk up to the pedestal and then once again with a loud and powerful voice the priest proclaims "I present to you your new emperor of the human Empire and the Mede Dynasty Titus Mede the second." A cheer erupts from inside the temple quickly followed buy loud cheers from outside. Not quite as enthusiastic as one would expect, but given the circumstances of late, it is better than what they could hope for. 

Titus Mede is once again surrounded by his Imperial Guard and led quickly out of the temple accompanied by his BattleMage. Dorran leans in towards the emperor and whispers in his ear, as for nobody else to hear "my lord unfortunately we must now call to an end the celebrations, there is much work to be done."


	2. The Pursuit

4e 171 7th of sun's height

 

It seems like a full day has passed since we cross the river and over the border into Valenwood. Yet judging by the sun 2 hours has passed. The forest has been growing thicker and thicker with every single step we take yet it would be unwise for us to hack away any of the forest. Despite the thick overgrowth and the shade provided the heat is still nearly unbearable. My comrade to my left head to toe covered in ragged leather armour, just like me. He's making thunderous cracking steps all the way. "Mortius! try to be more subtle we do not want to attract attention." "Argis" he replies "what makes you think the bosmer don't know we're already here? Can't you feel the eyes staring from all directions?" Well, we don't want to attract any more attention, do we?" I reply. "Besides, we don't want this Altmer to know we're right behind him". "Argis" he replies again this time in a louder voice somewhat angry "do you honestly think he's that stupid to not know we have been following him all the way from kvatch? We're in Dominion Territory chances are he's already disappeared". "Well Mortius! the emperor is not paying us to just give up".

We reach a break in the canopy, feels like the sweat that's all over our face is starting to boil. I turn to Mortius "I think we have highly underestimated this place. We only have a few hours before the sun goes down, we must consider making camp. We must find some Higher Ground". Mortius looks around with a smug look on his face. Looks up at the treetops "well Argis, take your pick, it doesn't look like we are out of options in that regard". Well, we'll push on for an hour or so and then set up camp in a tall tree" I say. "Well brother, the heat must really be getting to you I haven't heard you sound this stupid since you fell down that well in skingrad. Remember that? Nolan and myself had to rescue your sorry ass". "Yeah well, you too damn near got stuck as well and had to run off like babies to get an adult. What did you choose to forget that part of the story?" Mortius chuckles and strokes his black goatee, "ok friend, if that's how you want to remember it". I take a moment to think, remember, even. We've come a long way since we were kids in Skingrad.

"Heard from Nolan these past few weeks?" I ask. "No, unfortunately I have not. Since he became one of the Emperor's Bodyguard, it's nearly impossible to get a hold of him". "But one thing I don't understand" Mortius adds, "how does someone who spends his time that drunk, get that kind of promotion?" "He's a tough and brutal Nord. And as far as someone with tracking skills, you can't top him" I reply. "Well, we really could use his help right now" replies Mortius. "What I don't understand is how this Elvin scum got from Bravil to kvatch so damn quickly? Nobody saw him in between. And it's not like those cities are right next to each other. And it was a mere 2 days between sightings" says Mortius. I push past some overgrown shrubs, One springs back and hits me in the face, pushing my long brown hair back into my face. "well at this point, that's not our main concern. He even isn't. We just need that book of his. No doubt we'll have to kill him but we must be discreet. We cannot afford to come to blows with the dominion right now" I say in a not too assertive tone. "So how do you propose we be discreet?" And he directs my glance above my left shoulder. I can make you out the face outline of a humanoid. I whisper to Mortius “well we know there's at least one”. “No brother! there's two up there, who knows how many more or surrounding us? We should just be quiet and press on”.

We squeeze our way through the forest for the next hour. Making barely any ground. Mortius leans against the tree “well this looks like as good as any. Let's set up camp”. Before we can set up camp we no we have to lose these eyes that are watching us. We have been trained in tracking but we've also been trained in remaining Unseen. We make quite a few twists and turns few diversion tactics fast and subtle movements and within 20 minutes we feel like we're free. We climb a tree we try to find a very high one but one that is still covered over by the canopy. As the night passes the heat does not let up. The canopy seems to be trapped in a lot of moisture and it is one of the most unbearable climates I never been. Mortius and I take about an hour to speak, no general chat this time, all business on how to tackle the next day. Mortius takes first watch.

It's after midnight then I feel a shaking of my shoulders and a whisper in my ear “Argis wake up” I hear Mortius whispering. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust “what is it” I say with frustration. Hit points beneath the tree and whispers “there's something down there”. I direct him to the other side of the tree behind him and I turn around. I can hear deep and guttural breathing at a bit of a distance....... Wait a minute..... it's coming from beneath me. I peek my head over the edge of the tree and then quickly and quietly back away. I've seen a lot in my time, but this is nearly got me Frozen in terror. Mortius turns back to me and as he goes to speak I place my hand over his mouth. He's smart enough to know when to shut up. And then at that moment we hear a low growl coming from roughly 20 feet below us. They are accompanied by thudding footsteps. They stop right at the trunk of the tree. There is a pause, all we can here for the next few minutes is that deep breathing. Mortius still has no idea what's going on, but what I saw..... what I think I just saw has chilled me to the Bone. After a few minutes the thudding footsteps continue and the breathing noises begin to get further away. I don't know how long I waited but it seems like forever. I finally get the courage to remove my hand from Mortius's mouth and finally speak. “I'll take the watch from here” I whisper. He leans in closer to me. “What's wrong brother? You're looking very pale, even for a Breton”. “Just go to sleep” I reply “I don't want to talk about it”. He nods back slowly unsheathed his dagger and leans back against the branch, “ok” he Whispers. I stare out into the darkness into the direction footsteps left. I didn't sign up for this.

As the sun rises so does Mortius. he looks around frantically as I pop my head up from the side of the tree. “come on! this way!” I say with a hurried tone to my voice. “Damn it Argis! let me wake up” he replies. “We don't have much time” I reply quickly, “we need to take advantage before the forest steals our only lead”. “What in Oblivion do you mean?” he replies puzzled. he staggers down the tree, taking his time whilst still waking up. I point ahead, “that!” I proclaim. he looks forward to see a clearing that has been made ahead of us, about 5 feet wide and making its way deeper into the forest. “What... the....?” sounding even more puzzled this time. “That thing made it last night, we need to follow it”. “It went the opposite way and we need to get to where it came from”. “You want us to go to it's lair? I may have never been the brains in our group, but even to me that sounds dumb” he says. “This thing doesn't have a lair!” I reply sternly and walk off down the trail. We stay a bit to the side as we make our way down the winding trail made by the creature. We follow for about 45 minutes, the morning sun is already starting to get damn hot already. Mortius from time to time keeps asking what I saw, but every time I think of it I still get a bit frozen. I keep shrugging him off, or pretend I don't hear him. “Argis!” he says again, this time quite angrily. “We're meant to be tracking down that Dominion scum, but instead you have me chasing some creature! what gives?” I turn to him quickly, “you know what to do” and in a flash I am gone.

He looks around worried. “Bloody Mages!” Mortius draws his sword, A fine Imperial sword baring the Imperial dragon sigil on the hilt. The fine imperial Steel nearly sparkling in the morning sun. “He never learns to give me a proper heads up” mumbles Mortius. He scans the area looking for signs of anything. To his right about 30 feet away he sees something strange in the bushes. It's hard for him to see as a Ray of Sun strikes his face and he squints to try get a better look. At that moment a bolt of lightning shoots from the bushes, he has barely a moment to move. He does his best yet the lightning still catches his right shoulder. With a cry of pain he falls to his left against the tree. As he falls he notices and Altma in fine black robes appear in the bushes. The Altmer takes two steps forward. Dagger in left hand and a purple glow forming in his right. The Elf gives him a very wide eyed stare as the purple glow begins to grow. He once again takes one step forward and with a flash a bright yellow light, I appear 2 feet behind in and with one quick motion sever his right hand at the wrist with my Imperial sword. The Altmer let's out a very loud cry of pain in one more very fluid motion I spin and run my sword right through the Altmer's neck, decapitating him. His body remains upright for a moment then heavily crashing to the ground accompanied buy a loud cracking of twigs. I very quickly bend down searching the body whilst Mortius struggles to his feet against the tree. After a brief few moments I run over to help Mortius up. “Did you get it?” Mortise asks. I hold up a black leather satchel “yes” I reply, “but we have bigger issues right now”. 

A loud commotion can be heard from Beyond the trees, footsteps and yelling. “By Akatosh! I hope you can run” I say very worried. We begin to run direction they came from whilst a ball of flame flies right between both of our heads. Mortius quickly looks back and sees three Altmer soldiers in Golden armour lined with white gold that is glistening in the sunlight. At that point another two Fireballs fly in our direction. Myself and Mortius begin to run faster then we have ever run in our whole lives. Mortius slashes with his sword at the vines and branches in front of him. “Damn this green pact bull shit!” he yells. As we run, it has only taken mere moments for the forest drain our energy. I begin to fall behind, and I lean over in exhaustion. Another bolt of lightning shoots past where my head was, startling me so much that I don't notice the tree root protruding from the ground. My foot catches beneath it and sending me head over down a steep Gully. This is nothing he can't handle, I go into a controlled roll and land on my back in a shallow stream. Lying there I try to regain my breath, but the Fall has knocked the wind out of me. As I begin to sit up I look to my right and see massive Jaws open, lined with teeth. As the crocodile lunges towards me I feel a tug on my left arm and it lifts me out of the way. “Stop playing!” Mortius yells they're right behind us. I rush to my feet and we both start running down the stream. We can hear the crocodile thrashing in the water as well as Altmer voices a short distance behind. Both stumbling with exhaustion right now this is becoming too much for us to bare.

There is a narrow opening to our right on The stream, we jump through it not noticing that on the other side is a steep drop, what once was a waterfall. We land and roll through the mud, bouncing off the edges and trying not to get caught on the protruding roots. It is only a drop of about 15 feet before it slightly levels out into a Muddy stream. We slide through the mud uncontrollably, the stream twists and turns with us bouncing off the edges, ferns smacking ass in the face, roots jabbing into our sides, not to mention mouthfuls of sludge. Our bodies crashing into one another, well! on the bright side were making good time. We keep sliding, picking up velocity, flying and landing off of small old waterfalls. As soon as we regain our breath, the wind is knocked out of us again, and again, and again, and just when we feel like this will never stop another waterfall but this time the drop is over 100 feet! There is a raging river beneath us, I lose sight of Mortius as I hit the water.

Sharp pain shoot through my body, but I still find the strength to launch myself back up to the surface. As my head breaks through, I have no time, I need to get to the bank of the river. I swim with all my strength, push through the current and it doesn't take me long. I feel the dirt and mud. I take a deep breath, I'm safe. I turn on my back and lie in the mud. I let out a sigh and looked to my left, Mortius is leaning against a rock just on the Waters Edge. We take a brief moment and then I crawl over to him. “I think we lost them” I say with slight humour in my voice. Mortius sighs and points to the water. We can see the outline something long and large just beneath the water coming our way. “What in Oblivion is that?” I asked, frustrated. “I don't know” Mortius replies, “but I don't want to stick around to find out”.


End file.
